A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester

If we may...
Occasional ponderings upon global issues no 2

The United States of America has bombed the following countries since 1945:

China 1945-6 and 1950-53

Korea 1950-53

Guatemala 1954, 1960 and 1967-69

Indonesia 1958

Cuba 1959-60

Congo 1964

Peru 1965

Laos 1964-73

Vietnam 1961-73

Cambodia 1969-70

Grenada 1983

Libya 1986

El Salvador and Nicaragua: most of the 1980s

Panama 1989

Iraq 1991-present

Sudan 1998

Afghanistan 1998 and 2001-present

Yugoslavia 1999

In none of the above countries did US military action bring about the establishment of democratic governments.
Since the Gulf War ended in 1991, the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq have, according to a UNICEF report, been a major contributory factor in the deaths of at least half a million children.
The country was left devastated, with its basic infrastructure, water supplies, sanitation, sewers and electricity supplies wrecked and the people plunged into extreme poverty. Today, water-borne disease is the biggest killer of children.
The battlefields were left contaminated by toxins, such as the depleted uranium used by the Allies. As a result, the frequency of cancers and malformed births has risen sharply.
Since the Gulf War ended, the Allies have continued to bomb Iraq on an ongoing basis, and with increased frequency after 1998.
In the recent invasion of Afghanistan 3,500 plus civilians died outright in the bombing while many more died later of injuries received or in the refugee camps.
If there is a major attack on Iraq, estimates suggest the civilian deaths involved will be a minimum of 10,000-plus with thousands dying in the aftermath. Save the Children has said an assault "would lead to a humanitarian disaster".

We remember that Gandhi said "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".



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